Hummingbird cake is a soft, spiced Southern layer cake with sweet banana, crushed pineapple, and crunchy pecans that’s frosted with cream cheese frosting. I add browned butter to the tangy frosting for this cake. It adds so much flavor!
If a combination of carrot cake, spice cake, and banana cake sounds delicious, a hummingbird cake is the answer! This hummingbird cake is my banana cake with the addition of pineapple and pecans.
The ripe banana and juicy pineapple, combined with oil, keep the cake layers ultra-moist. With its light, fruity flavor, I always find hummingbird cake perfect for Easter dessert, Mother’s Day, or any spring gathering.
Like a carrot cake’s tropical cousin, hummingbird cake is traditionally frosted with cream cheese frosting. What makes this cake special is that I’ve crossed classic cream cheese frosting with brown butter frosting. Like my original banana cake, the rich, buttery frosting seriously does wonders for this hummingbird cake!
Why Is It Called a Hummingbird Cake?
Hummingbird cake originated in Jamaica, where it was called “Doctor Bird Cake”. It became a popular dessert known as hummingbird cake in the United States in the 1970s. The banana-pineapple cake is thought to be sweet enough to attract a hummingbird, hence the name. I love banana dessert recipes, and if you ask me, pineapple is such an underrated baking ingredient. I love it in pineapple upside-down cake, and it’s a signature in hummingbird cakes.
Ingredient Notes
Here are the key ingredients in this hummingbird cake. You’ll find the complete ingredients list with exact measurements in the printable recipe card below the post.
- Ripe Bananas – The best bananas for a hummingbird cake are ripe bananas with spotty peels. Like the bananas you’d use to make banana bread, ripe and overripe bananas have the best flavor and are easier to mash than underripe ones.
- Spices – Cinnamon and nutmeg add just the right amount of warmth to the cake. You can use allspice instead of nutmeg if you’d like.
- Pineapple – Canned crushed pineapple, and reserve some of the juice.
- Buttermilk – If it’s not available, use a homemade buttermilk substitute made from regular milk and white vinegar.
- Pecans – Finely chopped. I want my pecans very fine, so I buy “pecan pieces” and cut them into smaller pieces so they’re evenly distributed throughout the cake. Walnuts are a good substitute for pecans in a hummingbird cake if needed.
- Browned Butter (Frosting)– Browning butter brings out a nuttiness that adds great depth of flavor to the frosting. It’s very easy and takes minutes on the stovetop.
- Cream Cheese (Frosting) – Brought to room temperature.
Bake the Cake Layers
I use a digital kitchen scale to measure the flour correctly, crushed pineapple, sugar, and pecans. This ensures that the cake doesn’t end up too moist or too dry. Here are the steps to bake the hummingbird cake layers:
- Prepare to bake. While the oven preheats to 350ºF, grease two round 8-inch pans and lightly dust the insides with flour. I like to line the bottoms with parchment paper and wrap the pans with bake-even stripes, too, but this is optional.
- Mash the bananas. Use a fork or a potato masher to mash the bananas in a bowl.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Set the bananas aside while you combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a new bowl.
- Mix the cake batter. In a separate bowl, cream the oil and sugar together, then mix in the vanilla, pineapple, and mashed bananas. Next, beat in the eggs, followed by half the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk, and the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir and scrape down the side of the bowl as you go. Lastly, fold in the pecans.
- Bake. Divide the cake batter between your two prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 35 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test. Leave the cakes to cool in the pans for 20 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cakes cool to room temperature, follow these easy steps to prepare the brown butter and cream cheese frosting. Below you’ll find the instructions for the frosting, but don’t skip the important step of properly chilling the browned butter.
How to Chill the Brown Butter for the Frosting
The browned butter needs to chill to a semi-firm state, about 20-30 minutes. It should be easy to stir, and not completely firm (see the photo for reference). Since the water evaporates while the butter browns, it can become very hard when it’s chilled for too long. If it does become too firm in the fridge, let it sit at room temperature until it softens enough to stir. It should not be in a liquid state.
- Brown the butter. Start by melting butter in a saucepan. Let it come to a bowl over medium-low heat. As the butter bubbles, it will start to foam, and the milk solids in the butter will start to brown. Stir constantly as the color darkens, and take the butter off the heat when it starts to smell nutty. Pour it into a heatproof bowl and place it in the fridge to cool. I have a detailed step-by-step on how to brown butter if you need one.
- Whip the butter. After about 20-30 minutes in the fridge, the brown butter should be solid but not too hard. Once it’s chilled, stir the butter so the milk solids reincorporate. Then, whip the browned butter with a paddle attachment for 5-7 minutes until it’s fluffy and spreadable.
- Make the frosting. Next, beat the cream cheese with the whipped butter until smooth. Mix in one cup of powdered sugar at a time, then add the vanilla and salt. If needed, you can add up to another ½ cup of powdered sugar to thicken the frosting.
How to Assemble a Hummingbird Cake
Your cake layers need to cool completely before you assemble and frost your hummingbird cake. Otherwise, the frosting will slide right off the warm cake!
- Stack the cake layers. Level the cakes as needed, so they’re flat on top. Starting with the first cake layer, spread or pipe 1-1½ cups of frosting on top. Place the second cake layer over the frosting, inverted so the top of the cake is nice and flat.
- Make a crumb coat. Next, fill any gaps between the layers with extra frosting and smooth it out with an offset spatula, creating a crumb coat. Take care not to mix any cake crumbs back into the frosting. Afterward, chill the cake for 15-20 minutes in the fridge so the crumb coat can set.
- Frost the cake. Take your hummingbird cake out of the fridge and use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. If you’d like, sprinkle additional pecans on top of the finished cake.
Storing the Cake
- On the counter. This hummingbird cake stays moist for up to 2 days at room temperature. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap or keep it covered airtight in a cake carrier.
- Freeze the unfrosted cake. The baked and cooled cake layers can be frozen for up to 2 months. Wrap them in two tight layers of plastic wrap before freezing. Thaw the cakes at room temperature before frosting and assembling.
More Layer Cake Recipes
Hummingbird Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 1 (8-inch) cake, 2 layers
- Category: Cake, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Hummingbird cake is a soft, spiced Southern layer cake with sweet banana, crushed pineapple, and crunchy pecans. I frost my hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting enriched with nutty brown butter!
Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe bananas (around 350 grams)
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus extra for dusting pans
- 2 teaspoons (7.5g) baking powder
- 2 teaspoons (5g) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (4g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (118ml) oil (vegetable or canola)
- ¾ cup (143g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (247 grams) crushed pineapple, with juice
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup(236 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (120 grams) finely chopped pecans or walnuts
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, browned and cooled
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5–6 cups (650-780) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Additional chopped nuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two, round 8-inch pans and set aside. I line mine with parchment paper, and I also use bake even stripes; this is not required.
- Peel and break apart the bananas and place them in a small or medium bowl. Use a fork or potato masher to mash them completely. Make sure there are no large chunks of banana. Set them aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until thoroughly mixed.
- In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the oil and sugar together. Add the vanilla extract, crushed pineapple, and mashed bananas, and mix until combined.
- Mix in the eggs, then add about half of the dry ingredients. Pour in the buttermilk, then add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are mixed properly. Fold in the chopped pecans.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking pans, and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 20 minutes before removing them and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon-sized pieces and place in a saucepan. Turn the stovetop on to medium-low heat, slowly bringing the butter to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, the bubbles will go from big to small, and once the milk solids start to turn golden brown, stir constantly until the golden color starts to darken. Immediately remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl.
- Refrigerate the browned butter for 20-30 minutes until it solidifies, but it’s not too hard. This can also be placed in the freezer to speed up the process. Once chilled, stir the browned butter together with a spoon until the milk solids are mixed back into the butter.
- Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally until the butter reaches a whipped and fluffy consistency, and it’s easily spreadable.
- Next, cube the cream cheese and beat it together with the butter until it’s well combined and free of lumps.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing to combine before adding more, and add in the vanilla extract and salt together with the powdered sugar. Reserve the last ½ cup of powdered sugar, and only add if needed for a thicker consistency.
To Assemble:
- Use a cake leveler to cut the domes off the top of the cake. Place a dollop of frosting on your cake board and place the bottom layer of cake on top of that.
- Using 1 cup- 1 ½ cups of frosting between the layers. Using a piping bag (if desired), start piping around the outside edge and working your way into the middle. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Place the top cake layer inverted so the bottom of the cake is on top, giving you a flat top.
- Use a piping bag or offset spatula to fill in any gaps between the layers and to create a rough crumb coat. Using an offset spatula, wipe away the excess frosting, leaving just enough to coat the outside of the cake. Do not mix your crumb-coating frosting back into your icing if it has cake debris in it. Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes to allow the crumb coat to harden.
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator and proceed to finish frosting and decorating. Use the remaining pecans.
